More on the case from Curt Anderson's article:
The son of a Muslim cleric in South Florida was a key part of his father's alleged finance network for the Pakistani Taliban terror group and shared the older man's support for violent attacks, an FBI agent testified Tuesday.
Agent Michael Ferlazzo said at a bail hearing that 37-year-old Irfan Khan appears to advocate violence repeatedly on some of the more than 1,000 phone calls the FBI recorded between him and his father, brother and other alleged conspirators.
On one call, Ferlazzo said, Irfan Khan referred to Pakistan's government as “big pimps.”
“They're talking about violent opposition to the government,” Ferlazzo said. On another call, the agent said, Irfan Khan seemed pleased that people feared the Pakistani Taliban “because of how lethal they had become.”
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But Irfan Khan's attorney, Sowmaya Bharathi, said most of his comments could be chalked up to passionate political talk about Pakistan's government and its troubles, not evidence of support for terrorism.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with people exchanging information about horrible events in a part of the world they have a connection to,” Bharathi said. “Characterizing a government as a pimp is far from advocating violence.”
She said nearly two dozen people, including members of Irfan Khan's cricket team, were willing to put up cash and property to secure his release on bail. She noted that he has a wife and two young children in Florida and would be able to get a job driving a taxi if released.
“He is going to stay here and fight the charges,” Bharathi said.
Jordan has not said when he will rule on bail for Izhar Khan, who is imam at a mosque in suburban Margate. Hafiz Khan is imam at Miami's oldest mosque.
